BILLERICA -- Suited up in sneakers, a pink hat and a T-shirt with Kristen Corbett's name printed on it, Yolanda Beavers pushed on through Billerica's back roads in the morning sun.

Fellow 5K race participants had long disappeared into a cul de sac. The 59-year-old grandmother from San Antonio could only care about the "1 Mile" sign up ahead.

"Ooh hoo!" Beavers screamed in excitement as she passed the sign.

"I haven't done a mile since before the surgery."

Beavers received Corbett's heart in an transplant nearly three years ago. Corbett, who attended Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, was 20 when the car she was driving crashed into a tree in Austin, Texas.

Yolanda Beavers, of San Antonio, talks with Kristen Corbett's grandfather, Frank Dacey, before heading out on the Kristen Corbett 5K Memorial Scholarship Walk/Run in Billerica on Saturday. Her daughter, Lisa Rodriguez, right, said Beavers feels great, nearly three years after receiving Corbett's heart. "It's the heart of an athlete," she said.
SUN / JULIA MALAKIE

Thousands mourned the death of the bubbly, strong-willed college student who once took the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to court for denying her the right to play for the Billerica High girls ice hockey team while at Shawsheen Tech.

"Her happiness and love for life was contagious. It spread like a wild fire," said Corbett's friend, Katelyn Foley of Billerica. And Corbett's heart is now pumping blood inside Beavers' body.

Beavers' daughter, Lisa Rodriguez, said her mother feels energetic every day. "It's the heart of an athlete," she said.

"All good," said Corbett's father, Glenn, as he walked with Beavers. "Life gave me death, and (Kristen) made life" with it, he said.

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Corbett's family was united with Beavers for the first time on Saturday, as the Beavers flew from Texas to participate in the second-annual Kristen Corbett 5K Memorial Scholarship Walk/Run. Since hearing Corbett was in an intensive care unit on Dec. 11, 2009, Corbett's young sister, Mo Corbett, has taken consolation in knowing her organs helped several people with serious conditions, from kidney failure to blindness.

Seeing Beavers was special because she witnessed the "gift of life," said Mo, 18-year-old freshman at a Florida college.

"She is still helping people three years later," Mo said.

Beavers was 51 when she suddenly felt out of breath during a walk outside a Texas medical center where she worked as an administrative assistant. She was then diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and had a pacemaker installed. Despite repeated surgeries to correct leaky valves, her health continued to deteriorate. Her younger daughter, who is 19, spent much of her childhood seeing her mother sick, Beavers said.

In late 2009 she was hospitalized for tests to qualify her for an organ transplant. While in the hospital, she bled profusely during a routine tooth extraction because she was taking a powerful blood thinner.

Corbett's court battle against the MIAA was unsuccessful. But, she wouldn't give up playing hockey. She transferred to Austin Prep in Reading, where she played hockey and was a team leader. She then transferred from UMass Lowell to Austin Community College to reach her goal of enrolling at the University of Texas, according to her father. She was preparing to participate in an ROTC program when the accident took her life.

As a faithful Christian, Beavers said she always knew she would live. After six days on the transplant list, Corbett's heart became available.

Beavers' health bounced back immediately.

"Just like that," she said, snapping her fingers.

Beavers had to give up her San Antonio home to foreclosure because she could not afford payments while living in Dallas to prepare for the transplant, Rodriguez said.

"It was all worth it," Rodriguez said. "I was so proud of her to do as much as she did."

Beavers, who walked 1 1/2 miles Saturday, said seeing Glenn Corbett was overwhelming.

"Thank you for welcoming me," Beavers told the hundreds of race participants after the event. "I love you all. I really do."

Brittney McCoy, a 19-year-old YMCA worker from Billerica who is Mo's friend, said she participated in the race to support the scholarship. McCoy said the story about Corbett's transplant inspires her to appreciate every day.

Foley remembered Corbett declaring as a young child that she would play ice hockey better than the neighborhood boys who told her girls couldn't play the sport. Corbett was also a fun-loving girl who would throw cake batter at her when they baked together, she said.

"She was a force to be reckoned with," said Foley, who sobbed as she hugged Beavers. "A day doesn't go by without thinking about her."

Beavers is looking forward to cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her family, including her three grandchildren. Rodriguez said Beavers has been so energetic since the surgery that her two daughters wonder whether she will outlive them.

"You might see me next year," Beavers told a participant after the event.

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